Aung San Suu Kyi stripped of city freedom honour

Oxford City Council has removed the Freedom of the City from Aung San Suu Kyi.

The cross-party motion was unanimously supported at a special council meeting in Oxford Town Hall on Monday.

The de facto leader of Myanmar was granted the Freedom of the City in 1997 because she “reflected Oxford’s values of tolerance and internationalism” the council said.

But Aung San has been criticised by world leaders for her failure to address allegations of ethnic cleansing in the country.

Councillor Mary Clarkson, who proposed the motion, said: “We celebrated her for her opposition to oppression and military rule in Burma.

“Today we have taken the unprecedented step of stripping her of the city’s highest honour because of her inaction in the face of oppression of the minority Rohingya population.

“The burning of their villages has been independently confirmed by satellite images, and the UN has called the situation ‘a textbook example of genocide’ – yet Aung San Suu Kyi has denied any ethnic cleansing and dismissed numerous claims of sexual violence against Rohingya women as ‘fake rape’.

“Oxford has a long tradition of being a diverse and humane city and our reputation is tarnished by honouring those who turn a blind eye to violence.

“We hope that today we have added our small voice to others calling for human rights and justice for the Rohingya people.”

It comes after St Hugh’s College, Oxford, removed her portrait, and singer Sir Bob Geldof handed back his Freedom of the City of Dublin in protest saying he could not share the honour which is also held by
Aung San.